Plating attachment for knitting machine



1964 E. J. BOUTILLETTE PLATING ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 30, 1962 United States Patent 3,157,035 PLATlNG ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACIWE Edward J. Beutiilette, Oxford, Mass., assiguor to Knitting Mills, line, Manchester, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Fiied Early 30, 1962, Ser. No. 213,453 Claims. (Cl. 66-136) The present invention relates to an improved plating attachment and method of plating for a flat full-fashioned Cotton-type knitting machine.

In knitting machines of the type referred to having a series of spring beard needles movable as a unit with relation to a fixed press edge, knock-over bits and individually movable sinkers, the knitting of a continuously plated fabric in which the same or a similar yarn is to be maintained in the same relative plating position in successive courses for both directions of traverse of the feeding yarn carriers, is normally carried out with yarn carriers mounted on separate carrier rods so arranged that the trailing carrier for one direction of operation is moved past the leading carrier to the reverse position at the end of each traversing stroke of said carriers to maintain the desired plating relation prior to the downward knockingover movement of the needles.

In some instances two yarn carriers for plating yarns have been mounted in fixed relation on the same carrier rod. With this arrangement in which first one and then the other yarn is located in the lead position depending upon the direction of traverse, the position of the plating yarns in the knitted fabric is correspondingly reversed so that first one and then the other yarn is brought to the surface position.

So far as applicant is aware, however, no one has so far succeeded in maintaining a continuous plating relation of two knitting yarns from carriers mounted on the s ame carrier rod for both directions of traverse.

*It is a principal object of the present invention to provide=a construction and a mode of operation of two carriers on a single carrier rod with respect to the needle and sinker movements of a full-fashioned cotton-type knittingmachine which will have the effect of maintaining constant the plating relation of two carrier yarns during the traverse of said yarns in both directions and thereby to reduce to a minimum the number of carrier rods required for the production of fully plated fabrics which may for example consist of a plurality of fully plated fabric sections simultaneously produced on the needle series in accordance with a pattern.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of shifting the positions of the two carriers supported on the same carrier rod in such a manner with relation to the needle and sinker movements as to insure the laying of the two yarns in the correct plating relation to the needles and sinkers at each reversal of the yarn feed.

A feature of the invention consists in the provision of two carriers mounted on a single carrier rod for relative adjustment to cause a selected one of the plating yarns to appear on the surface of the fabric, and means operable during each successive traverse of said yarn carriers from one to the other limit position to effect a relative shift of said carriers which will cause the same yarn to be maintained in its surface position during the return traverse of said carriers.

With the above and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear the several features of the invention consist also in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following Patented Nov. 17, 1964 description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial view in front elevation of a multiple section knitting machine illustrating three pairs of plating carriers adapted for the knitting of continuously plated fabric on each of a central and two side panels of said fabric;

FIG. 2 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of a plating carrier unit shown at the right hand end of its traverse;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view in side elevation illustrating the plating yarn carrier attachment in the position shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail sectional view in side elevation similar to FIG. 3 on an enlarged scale illustrating particularly the inner stop position of the plating'yarn carrier attachment adapted for knitting the left-hand side panel of the fabric.

The invention is disclosed in the drawings as embodied in a coarse gage full-fashioned knitting machine having knitting instrumentalities including spring beard needles which are fixedly mounted in a needle bar 12, a sinker I head 14 having a fixed press edge 16, individually movable sinkers 18, and dividers 20, and knock-over bits 22. The yarn is fed to the needles by means of yarn carriers 24 mounted on longitudinally reciprocable rods 26 carried in V supporting brackets 28 forming part of the machine frame. The machine shown comprises a plurality of knitting sections and is of a coarse gage adapted for the knitting of swimsuits and the like articles in which plating carriers and short-course carriers are utilized for the knitting of different sections of the fabric. The conventional swimsuit indicated at 30 having front and edge panels knitted with plating yarns would require at least six separate yarn carriers each mounted on a separate carrier rod, and additional carriers if further ornamentation or other yarn I changes were called for.

In the illustrated construction three pairs of plating 3 carriers are provided, one for each of said panels being knitted on each knitting section. The leading and trailing yarn carriers of each pair are mounted on one carrier rod and are shifted in such timed relation to the knitting cycle as to maintain one of the yarns of each pair at all times in the top position while the other of said yarns is retained in the bottom position in the fabric.

The plating yarn carrier attachment for the machine comprises a lead yarn carrier '34 which is secured to a plating carrier rod 36, one such carrier being provided at each knitting section along the length of the machine, and a trailing yarn carrier 38 pivotally mounted at 40 to swing between two limit positions on the relatively fixed carrier rod 36. A bracket 42 on the fixed carrier 34 carries two adjustable stop screws 44 for limiting movement of the yarn carrier 33 in each direction. At its upper end the pivotally mounted trailing carrier 38 is connected to a biasing cord or strap 46 which passes between two rollers 48, 56 on a fixed bracket 52 located half-way'between the two stop positions 0 fthe carriers 34, 38. The rollers 48, 50 and bracket 52 comprise a carrier shift control station at which the direction of bias upon the trailing carrier is reversed during the traverse of said carriers from one to the other stop position.

a bolt 58 on the machine frame. During movement of the carrier rod 3% to the right from the dotted-line to the full-line position shown in FIG. 2, the trailing yarn carrier 38 starts its reversing movement in the trailing position, but then as the carriers pass beneath the control station provided by rollers 48, 50 the trailing carrier 38 is swung The cord 46 exj tends rearwardly around a pulley'54 and thence downwardly to a coiled spring 56 attached at its lower end to l the carriers reach the right-hand stop position shown in the full lines in FIG. 2, and at the start of the traverse of the carriers to the left. As the carriers again pass the intermediate control station 48, t) traversing from right to left toward the dotted-line position shown in FIG. 2, the trailing carrier 38 is again swung, this time to the left, to a trailing position for the start of the return traverse to the right.

A most important feature of the operation above described consists in the reversal of the positions of the leading and trailing carriers during the traversing movement of the carriers to their stop position so that the reversal of the plating carriers will have taken place and the relative position thereof will have been established prior to the downward knocking-over movement of the needles after the carriers have reached the limit of their traversing movement in either direction followed by the wave-like advance of the sinkers and leveling movement of the intermediate dividers. Applicant has found specifically that the relative positions of the plating yarns during each traverse is determined as of the moment the needles are drawn down against the sinker nibs during the knockingover movement of the needles. Stated another way, the relative position of the two yarns is determined as of the moment the first loop is kinked about a needle shank at the start of the yarn carrier and slur cock traverse along the length of the needle series. The position of the yarns in the first kink so formed controls the position of the yarns in the second kink, and so on, as the knitting wave proceeds across the needle series. The reversal of the yarn carriers effected by applicant during this traverse has no effect on the relative yarn positions until after the knocking over and drawing down of the loops at the end of the yarn carrier and slur cock traverse above referred to. The relative positions of the plating carriers may thereafter be reversed during the subsequent traverse of the carriers without in any way atfecting the previously established relation of the plating yarns.

The mechanism described for reversing the position of the plating carriers and the method by which said reversal is effected at an intermediate point in the travel of said carriers in advance of the time said reversal becomes effective has the important advantage that it insures the proper positioning of the carriers for the return traverse prior to the downward knocking-over movement of the needles. The tensioning cord for biasing the trailing carrier to its desired position provides a simple and at the same time effective means for maintaining the relative positions of the carriers during movement in each direction. A particular advantage of the present construction consists in the fact that changes may be made in the position of the carrier stops in the usual course in accordance with the pattern without the necessity of eiiecting a corresponding change in the position of the devices for reversing the position of the trailing plating carrier.

In the illustrated form of the invention as shown in FIG. 1, three separate plating carrier attachments are shown in operation, the attachment knitting the central panel of the swimsuit having been above described. Similar attachments are provided for the knitting of each panel. In order that the control stations for reversing the position of the plating carriers may be maintained always in a position which is substantially half-way between the limits of movement of the short-course carriers knitting said side panels, the control stations therefor are mounted respectively on shift rods 60, 62 which are in turn connected by links 64, 65 with nuts 68, 7t; mounted on adjusting screws 72, 74 at opposite ends of the machine. The screws are given a stepped rotational movement to adjust the positions of the respective control stations by means of ratchet and pawl mechanisms controlled by the pattern chain mechanism of the machine. Inasmuch as these mechanisms are well known in the art, no particular illustration or description is believed necessary.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

l. A plating a 'tachment for a flat full-fashioned Cottontype knitting machine having a press edge, a series of spring beard needles movable as a unit, knockover bits, and a series of sinkers movable to kink yarn successively about the shanks of the needles which comprises a yarn carrier assembly having traversing movement between limit positions including a yarn carrier rod, a pair of plating yarn carriers laying yarn to said sinkers relatively shiitable on said rod to reverse plating positions, and means for reversing said carriers to maintain the plating positions of the yarns unchanged during successive traverses in opposite direction comprising a control station on the machine located between the travel limits of said yarn carriers, and an actuator at said station operable to shift said yarn carriers during the preceding yarn laying traverse of said carriers.

2. A plating attachment for a fiat full-fashioned Cottontype knitting machine having a press edge, a series of spring beard needles movable as a unit, knock-over bits, and a series of sinkers movable to kink yarn successively about the shanks of the needles which comprises a yarn carrier assembly having traversing movement between limit positions, including a yarn carrier rod, a lead yarn carrier supported on said rod to be reciprocated for laying yarn to said sinkers in opposite directions, a trailing yarn carrier supported on said rod for laying the plating yarn to said sinkers shiftable from one side to the other of said lead yarn carrier, a control station on the machine located between the travel limits of said yarn carriers, and an actuator supported at said station operable to shift said trailing yarn carrier in advance of said lead yarn carrier during the continued yarn laying traverse of said carriers in each direction.

3. In a fiat full-fashioned Cotton-type knitting machine having a press edge, knock-over bits, a series of sinkers movable in a knitting wave, and a series of needles movable from a high yarn receiving position downwardly to a needle press and a loop knocking-over position, carrier rods, and means for traversing said rods between limit positions in advance of said knitting wave, and prior to a downward knocking-over movement of said needles, the combination of a plating yarn carrier attachment which comprises a lead yarn carrier supported on a said carrier rod for traversing movement between limit positions, a trailing yarn carrier, a pivotal support therefore mounted on said rod in fixed relation to said lead yarn carrier, a control station on said machine located intermediate said 'ravel limits of said yarn carriers, and a yieldable connection between said trailing yarn carrier and said control station actuated by movement of said trailing yarn carrier past said station to shift said trailing yarn carrier from a trailing to an advance position with relation to said fixed yarn carrier.

4-. In a fiat full-fashioned Cotton-type knitting machine having a press edge, knock-over bits, a series of sinkers movable in a knitting wave, and a series of needles movable from a high yarn receiving position downwardly to a needle press and a loop knocking-over position, carrier rods, and means for traversing said rods between limit positions in advance of said knitting wave, and prior to a downward knocking-over movement of said needles, the combination of a plating yarn carrier attachment which comprises a lead yarn carrier supported on a said carrier rod for traversing movement between limit positions, a trailing yarn carrier pivotally supported on said lead yarn carrier for movement to said trailing position at opposite sides of said lead yarn carrier, and means operable with each successive traverse to shift said trailing yarn carrier to said trailing position comprising a strap attached to said trailing yarn carrier, 21 control guide through which said strap passes located intermediate said limits of carrier traversing movement, and iasing means acting on said strap for biasing said strap and trailing yarn carrier to shift said trailing yarn carrier to the alternate trailing position upon passing said control guide.

5. In a flat full-fashioned knitting machine having a press edge, a series of spring beard needles movable as a unit, knock-over hits, a series of sinkers movable successively to kink yarn about the shanks of the needles, a pair of plating carriers laying yarn to said sinkers relatively shiftaole to reverse plating positions, the method of maintaining a constant plating relation of two plating yarns fed to the sinkers during successive traverses of said plating carriers in opposite direction which comprises the steps of reversing the position of said plating carriers so that the trailing yarn carrier is moved to the lead carrier position during each traverse of said carriers prior to 5 s reversal, maintaining said reversed position at reversal, and thereafter initiating traversing movement of said plating carriers while held in said reversed position.

eferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,472 Buxtorf Apr. 18, 1893 2,139,790 Zimic et a1. Dec. 13, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 83,479 Germany Nov. 4, 1895 4,120 Great Britain Mar. 8, 1889 

1. A PLATING ATTACHMENT FOR A FLAT FULL-FASHIONED COTTONTYPE KNITTING MACHINE HAVING A PRESS EDGE, A SERIES OF SPRING BEARD NEEDLES MOVABLE AS A UNIT, KNOCKOVER BITS, AND A SERIES OF SINKERS MOVABLE TO KINK YARN SUCCESSIVELY ABOUT THE SHANKS OF THE NEEDLES WHICH COMPRISES A YARN CARRIER ASSEMBLY HAVING TRAVERSING MOVEMENT BETWEEN LIMIT POSITIONS INCLUDING A YARN CARRIER ROD, A PAIR OF PLATING YARN CARRIERS LAYING YARN TO SAID SINKERS RELATVELY SHIFTABLE ON SAID ROD TO REVERSE PLATING POSITIONS, AND MEANS FOR REVERSING SAID CARRIERS TO MAINTAIN THE PLATING POSITIONS OF THE YARNS UNCHANGED DURING SUCCESSIVE TRAVERSES IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION COMPRISING A CONTROL STATION ON THE MACHINE LOCATED BETWEEN THE TRAVEL LIMITS OF SAID YARN CARRIERS, AND AN ACTUATOR AT SAID STATION OPERABLE TO SHIFT SAID YARN CARRIERS DURING THE PRECEDING YARN LAYING TRAVERSE OF SAID CARRIERS. 